PS Adjustable High Idler

[BKowalski]

Just ordered an Adjustable High Idler from Gordon at Practical Solutions (406-727-5144). Like the old non-adjustable version all the connections are made via pre-made harnesses that are included with the kit. Unlike the old version all of the electronics are contained in a little black box that mounts inside the cab of the truck. On the box there is a knob that controls the idle RPM's. It will be nice to have the versitility of infinite idle settings. During the winter I like to idle the truck at 1150 RPM to maintain heat, during the summer when the A/C is running I would like to boost the idle to 1400 RPM, so the engine doesn't bog as much when the compressor kicks in.

Has anybody else tried one of these yet?

I'm leaving for a fishing trip to Ontario, Canada in the morning. Hopefully the new high idler will be here when I get back in about a week, so I can add yet another item to the constantly growing list of toys (convienence features Dodge should have included) to my truck.

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Practical Solutions Diesel Products. Yada Yada Yada Blah Blah Blah. Just wanted inform everyone of this cool new product.

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2000 2500 24v 4x4 SLT QC SWB 3. 54 LSD Auto, Camper Pkg, Tow Pkg, Snow Plow Prep, EVERY option except leather and cab lights,
Color: Patriot Blue / Driftwood; Agate
ACCESSORIES: Van Aaken CPC, Practical Solutions Boost Module and Elbow, Meyers Max Poly Plow, A. R. E. Bed Lid, Bed Rug, Putco Pipeline Running Boards, BetterBuilt Stainless Steel Bug Shield, High Wattage Headlight Bulbs (80w/100w), 100w BackUp Lights, Dodge Splash Guards, 5" Monster Tip, Grover Air Horns, Alpine SEC-8063 Security System, AstroStart Remote Starter, Muth Signal Mirrors, Practical Solutions High Idler, DTT TC& VB, SPA Gauges, Mag-Hytec transmission pan & Rear Cover, Psycotty Air, Bully Dog 4" exhaust
Soon to be installed: Stage 2 Injectors

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Knob-adjustable high idle control--excellent! Exactly what I've been waiting for! I must say Gordon has done up some great stuff for us CTD enthusiasts at very good prices.

Brad, let us know what RPM range you can adjust yours to when you've gotten it installed. And BTW, you're killing me with that legal mumbo jumbo #ad


Vaughn



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'01 2500 QC Shortbed 2wd, 6-speed, 3. 54LSD, Cab & Fog lamps, Camper & Tow Pkg.
BOMBed: DD2 Injectors, PS Boost module, Amsoil air filter, straightpiped exh. , Aeroquip 3/8" fuel line w/tank mounted lift pump, AutoMeter Sport Comp gauges, Line-X'd, Amber turn signal conversion.

 

[willyslover]

ME TOOOOO !!
I'm looking at this also Brad. . flow the info . .
TANX

 

[JR2]

What was the approximate cost of this new idler?? I know the first one that was not adjustable was 199 but he does not have the new one on his website yet.
Thanks

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John D. Rathert Jr.
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01 2500 Forrest Green Sport SLT+ QC LWB 4x4 Auto 3. 54 rear end with all options avail. DC Nerf Bars, DC Grill Guard, DC mud flaps, Line-X bed liner, Leer 160XL Topper, Power Edge, EZ Edge, SPA Boost/EGT Gauge on pillar mount, DTT's tc/vb combo, 275 RV injectors, DD 4" Exhaust and a KN RE0880 where the air box use to be. Fuel Pressure gauge, SS fuel lines and lift pump relocation on deck. See My Truck, Dads truck: 98. 5 3500 SLT QC LWB 4x4, Brother Truck: 92 W250 SLT CC LWB 4x4 (Dads old truck) Winter fun - 2000 Skidoo Summit 700
I am my own warranty station.
*************************

 

[Evan A. Beck]

I bet I could build one with a variable control for a lot less than 199 smackers! #ad

 

[JHansen]

The part that really interests me is that it plugs in to the factory harnesses. I have a Saskatoon Diesel adjustable fast-idler sitting here for my truck-but haven't put it on yet as I really can't bring myself yet to hack on the truck's wiring-I haven't even made my first payment yet! Plus the instructions are a little vague in spots and I'm still waiting for my FSM's to show. Also for the 2000+ MT's with the servoless cruise to use the SDS high idler kit you have to install the factory cruise servo-do you have to do this with the PS model also or is it still a straight plug-in? Very curious to see how it fits and works-if it does the job as advertised I'll have a SDS setup for sale-or maybe send it back to them.

Jason


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2001 2500 Quad Cab LWB 4x4 HO/6spd/241HD/4. 10 LSD loaded right up including leather and Sport trim-Bright Silver Metallic with Agate interior and as much stainless and polished aluminum as I can find! The Silver Cloud.....

 

[Evan A. Beck]

The plugs are readily available from Jeg's... It's just a 6-pin deutsch connector for the APPS. I think they are around 10 bucks... I got 5 of them in my shop! #ad
Time to go to Radio Shack!

 

[David_VT]

Evan,
I must confess that the thought of a turn key box that plugs in and is already in a nice package that does what I want finally pushed me over the edge... .

I ordered my adjustable Practical Solutions hi-idler just a few moments ago!!

(Sure I could do it for less, but I for one just don't have the time and the truck gets older every day... )

Bravo to Gordon!
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Now I still want to make the turbo shutdown add on for the SPA guages, but I still can't find the darn ignition plugs for under the steering wheel.

Mike Crossley and I have a circuit that is growing dust on it, but no ignition plugs to install it properly #ad




[This message has been edited by David_VT (edited 05-22-2001). ]

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Well, I got a parts list, comes to about $25. Gotta love that!!!! #ad
I think I will make mine self-disabling too, that is, have it cut out when ya tocuh the brake pedal. Also, I will make in functional ONLY when the parking brake is on. #ad

 

[1tuffram]

Why not design a variable speed high idler which is activated/deactivated by coolant temp plus maybe have a switch for manual override for the times you want a fast idle when engine is already warm. Have it turn off at around 140 degrees or so.

 

[HVAC]

The adjustable version is a good idea. We had trouble with the fixed resister versions. Seems that when it is hotter the value changes.

 

[Walker]

Anybody check out the "fast idle device" Ed White made "for under $10" with a 12V solenoid from an early 80's carburetor (page 14 latest issue of TDR)? Anyone think this is a do-able and reliable comparison?

Sounds like a good alternative.

 

[MCrossley]

well have my idler installed last week (Gordon and I redesigned the idea a little) works great after bein gin Vegas and back to CA all is working fine, yes it is a direct plug in no splicing. Variable RPM is adjustable with a min/max presetting. Anyone with any questions let me know.

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TAZ... 2001 2500 SLT+ 4X4 Auto ETC Cummins, LSD 3. 54,Quad Cab, Long Bed, Agate Leather, White/Driftwood Exterior, Sliding rear window, Camper Special Group, Towing Group, Cab clearance lights,SPA-Technique Digital Dual Gauges (Pyro/Boost, Trans pressure/temp) Aux. Backup lamps. BNM 5th Wheel Hitch, Additional Body Molding on Bed. Line-X bed-liner. DTT's TC & VB, Pac Brake w/ DTT Smart Controller, Power Edge, Edge EZ, Grover Air Horns, P. S. High Idler, RV 275 Injectors.

2000 32' Aljo Triple Slide 5th Wheel.

Ram-Taz

 

[KatDiesel]

I ordered one just for grins, it'll be here by this weekend hopefully.

 

[illflem]

Will it work on a 12 valve? Or better yet Evan, will yours?

 

[Rick G]

Evan - since you sound like you are into tinkering with the electronics, maybe you could look at just using the cruise control like they do in the motorhomes. In ours, I can just press the accelerate button and then let off when the idle gets to the desired rpm. Would seem all that needs to be done is to bypass the under 35mph logic. Something to think about.

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99 2500 QC 4X4 5sp /
DDIII's / DD Ceramic Clutch / 320 RWHP / made in Mexico /
3. 54LSD 285 75X16 AR Atlas / Hadley airhorns ISSPRO guages

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Rick, all you would have to to is "trick" the PCM that the truck is acutally moving. As you know, the cruise is disabled when it gets below a certain speed. What's this mean? Well, basically it tells us that the cruise control is VSS-dependant! #ad
Should be a simple fix to make it work whent he thing is stopped. I'll check it out. #ad


Sorry illflem, this is only for us with trucks that are "well-endowed" in the valve department. #ad


[This message has been edited by Evan A. Beck (edited 05-22-2001). ]

 

[illflem]

Evan, don't know about the 24v, but on my under-endowed #ad
truck messing with VSS screws up other functions. The simple way I figured on making the adjustable idle setup was to just install a push button to send a 12 volt pulse to the cruse servo( does a 24v even have one?) to idle up to where you want it, brake pedal to idle down. I tried it, it works only problem is you need a very fast pulse too have good control.

 

[JHansen]

The Saskatoon Diesel (or Diesel Services Group I guess it should more accurately be called) fast idler that I bought ties into the cruise servo for its speed control. Unfortunately it requires a lot of cutting and soldering which I'm really not prepared to do on a truck that has just had its first month anniversary..... plus with the 2000+ MT models with servoless cruise you have to add the factory cruise servo to make the kit functional. From what I can gather from reading the instructions this kit was designed for the 12 valvers and then retrofitted to the ISB models. It's sitting in the toolbox of my truck if anyone is interested in it-the box itself sells through DSG for $329 CDN so make me a reasonable offer for it and it's yours-also have the cruise kit to add cruise to a truck not so equipped!

I talked to Gordon today on the phone-what a great guy! Offered to send it up to me right away if I was in a hurry on the guarantee that I would send him a cheque... to a foreign country and a guy he's never heard of before. I'm not in that big a panic-but it sure makes you feel good. So I ordered one of his kits as well as the intake heater saver and the HD idler pulley. That should give me a few more projects to take care of when it all arrives-like I don't have enough to do already... .

When I get mine I'll post about the installation and workings of it-but I'm sure it's gonna work like gangbusters!

Jason


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2001 2500 Quad Cab LWB 4x4 HO/6spd/241HD/4. 10 LSD loaded right up including leather and Sport trim-Bright Silver Metallic with Agate interior and as much stainless and polished aluminum as I can find! The Silver Cloud.....

 

[Loren]

The fuel truck that delivers to my farm has a high idle switch on its 24 valve. The switch allows the driver to switch between normal (low) idle and high (1150 rpm) idle. I was so intrigued I decided to do some homework.

First I saw the Practical Solutions ad for their unit, but I thought that $200 for what was basically a switch and some connectors was waaay to high. So I stopped by Cummins Cincinnati about a month ago to discuss the subject with them. The service guy there told me that the "normal" ISB installations use two 50- pin connectors to interface the engine with the truck. Dodge's specifications use only one 50-pin connector. The high idle switch was one of the connections we lost.

Obviously PS has found a way around this. It sounds like several others have too.

The Cummins service man's most interesting suggestion was to use the cruise control as Rick G suggested. This would allow you to select any idle rpm you want, instead of just 1150. I thought that I might be able to trick the truck by putting the transfer case in neutral, but it didn't work.

I see from the discussion here that I need to send some sort of ground speed signal to the engine. I haven't double checked the operation since the truck was new, but I played with the cruise control back then. I discovered that the truck needs not only a certain minimum speed for the cruise control to operate, but it also needs to be in fifth or sixth gear (on a six-speed, obviously). Cruise control would not work in fourth or lower gears. I haven't tried it in sixth in low range, but I probably couldn't get to 35 mph in low range anyway.

It looks to me as though there is a real market for an adjustable idle device. If someone can build one with the following specifications for under $100, I'll buy it.

Required features:
1. Reliability. No fault codes with the installation. No interference with any other system. Able to withstand the environment under the hood. Able to leap tall buildings with... No, wait, that's something else.
2. All electronic. No mechanical connections to the engine or throttle linkage.
3. No cutting, splicing, or tapping of any wire. The possible exception I would allow would be to require a power source for the device itself.
4. Must operate with transfer case in neutral. The main reason I want one is to use a PTO hydraulic pump. It's not installed yet, but when I get it I'm going to want a higher idle.
5. High idle would have to be at least 1150 rpm.

Desired features
6. Adjustable rpm. If it can use the cruise control system, even better.
7. I would prefer that it work with the parking brake off. There are times when I want to creep along at a set speed. This would allow me to do it.
8. Ability to work in low range, and in any gear.

Can any of you come up with any more ideas along this line?

Is there an electronics guy among us who can build this? If so, I'll be your first customer.


Loren

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2000 Quad Cab, 4x4, short bed, six-speed: U. S. Gear exhaust brake, MileMarker Select Drive viscous coupling, Velvet-Ride spring shackles, Painless Wiring circuit box, Optima yellow-top batteries, Super-Glide 5th wheel hitch, Reese folding ball gooseneck hitch, Drawtite front hitch receiver, Tekonsha Sentinel brake controller, Westin nerf bars, Clarion sound system
1995 Standard Cab, 4x4, long bed, automatic: Firestone Ride-Rite air springs, torque converter lock-up switch, 4" cat-back exhaust, Reese 20K 5th wheel hitch, Reese gooseneck hitch, Hayes Micro Control trailer brake controller, 100 gallon bed-mounted fuel tank with 12 volt electric pump & fill nozzle, Swiss Cap fiberglass cap